First Meeting
by AZGirl
Summary: Before Mac and Jack meet in Afghanistan, they run across each other in another time and place.


**Spoilers:** Some dialogue from episode 2.01 DIY or DIE, written by Lenkov, O'Neill, and Slack is quoted.

.

 **ooooooo**

"When you meet someone for the first time, that's not the whole book. That's just the first page." ~~~~~ Brody Armstrong.

 **ooooooo**

 _Los Angeles, 2000_

Normally, Angus would be jumping at the chance to go into a hardware store, and be as happy as any other kid would be in a toy store. Every time he went into one, he couldn't help but see the myriad of possibilities contained inside it. This time though, the idea of going inside a hardware store makes him feel vaguely nauseous, and his heart is pounding faster than a healthy ten-year-old's should.

Earlier, when they were having breakfast at a diner near the house, Angus's grandfather told him they were going to the hardware store after they finished eating. Angus had no choice but to go with his grandfather, but he did have a choice in how fast – or how slowly – he ate the rest of his breakfast. He knew Harry would quickly catch on that something was up, and he was right. Just like always, the man got him to spill his guts.

For once, his grandfather didn't lecture him about avoiding a problem or tell him to face the issue head on. Instead, Harry had been sympathetic and allowed him to wait outside. With the promise that he would not leave the area directly in front of the store, his grandfather went inside and Angus sat down on the only bench, which was next to the front door.

A few minutes later, an old man walked up to the store smoking some kind of gross-smelling cigarette, seeming intent on finishing it before going inside. Instantly, statistics about how bad even second-hand smoking was floated through his mind. Angus tried moving upwind, but the disgusting smoke had already permeated the entire area in front of the store.

When he couldn't stand it any longer, he decided to head towards the grocery store in hopes there would be a soda machine out front. He knew his grandfather would be angry with him for breaking his promise, but he felt he had a good enough reason. Hopefully, by the time he returned to the hardware store, the cigarette-smoking man would be gone.

At the grocery store, Angus stepped up to the soda machine and saw there are a couple of options he liked, but he wasn't sure if he had enough change. He reached into his pocket and tugged the coins out just far enough that he could see how much he had. Using his other hand, he dug through the pennies to start picking out the coins he'd need to purchase a soda.

As he finds the correct change, he feeds it into the machine: dime, nickel, dime, quarter. When he finds the last quarter he'll need, he starts to shove the rest of the change back into his pocket, but some of it seems intent on escaping. He succeeds in keeping the bulk of his change from escaping, but manages to fumble and drop the quarter he'd planned on putting into the machine.

Of course the coin lands on its edge and starts rolling away. Frustrated, and knowing he doesn't have enough money for the soda without the coin, Angus chases after it. As he goes after it, Angus quickly calculates its most likely path, and figures out that it will go into the storm drain if he doesn't stop it before then.

So focused on retrieving the coin, and blind to all else, he's not really looking where he's going. He doesn't realize he's about to run out in front of a car barreling down the road in front of the grocery store.

Before he can take another step, one which might have been his last, something grabbed his shirt and pulled him backwards. He stumbled and landed on his butt just as a large truck sped by.

If he had not been pulled back, then he would've been a red smear on the ground in front of the store by now.

"What the hell do you think you were doing, kid?" Angus heard a man with a Texas accent ask.

As he picks himself up off the ground, Angus almost loses his balance, but a hand briefly touched his shoulder to keep him from falling. "Are you OK?"

Embarrassed that he had been more focused on the quarter than on his surroundings, Angus didn't say anything at first, and can't bring himself to look up at the man who'd just saved him from his stupidity.

Instead he nods. Then, he hears his mother's words reminding him about manners in his head, which helps him to find his voice. "Thank you, Sir."

"Yeah, well, you're welcome. You know a quarter isn't worth your life, right?"

Angus nodded again, cheeks still flaming in embarrassment. He then turned towards the soda machine intent on hitting the coin return button to get his money back.

Before he can touch it however, the Texan asked, "Need a quarter?"

"No, thanks," he said.

Just as he's about to touch the coin return button, Angus heard his grandfather calling his name. From the tone of voice, Harry was angry with him, so he doesn't even bother trying to get his money back.

As he turns to run towards the hardware store, Angus finally gets a glimpse of the man who'd saved his life. He doesn't get a good look, but he is left with the impression of a tall man, with brown hair, and a hint of stubble on the chin. He waves at the guy, who waves back, and runs over to his grandfather, preparing himself for another lecture about not being where he should be.

All the way back to Harry's house, Angus thinks about how close he came to dying, but as soon as the car pulls into the driveway and he sees the house, he pretty much forgets all about it as his previous anxieties rush back into the forefront of his mind.

This weekend in Los Angeles wasn't to see the sights, wasn't a vacation, but to close up his grandfather's house and line up someone to occasionally check in on it. The trip to the hardware store was to get some things needed to protect the house. Now that his father has left him, and doesn't seem like he'll ever return, Harry is moving to Mission City permanently in order to live with him. As he helps Harry, Angus can't help but wonder how long it will be before his grandfather leaves, and he's all alone in the world.

ooooooo

 _Los Angeles, 2017_

As Mac runs along the trail, he can't help but think about the ongoing search for his father, and the clue he'd found in the watch the previous night.

 _Mac opens up the back of his father's watch and finds a tiny photo inside._

" _Is that you?" Jack asks._

" _Yeah. On my 10th birthday. This is… This was taken the day my dad left."_

" _Well, he hid it in there for a reason. It's got to be a clue, right?_

" _I don't know, but I'm going to find out."_

Running up his driveway, Mac realizes he doesn't exactly remember the majority of his run. Jack would really be on his case if he found out just how much he'd failed regarding situational awareness the past hour or so. Luckily, his friend would never know.

Entering his house, Mac heads straight for the kitchen to retrieve a bottle of water from the refrigerator. As he twists the cap off, he turns around, and notices a note on the kitchen counter in front of him. He takes another swig of water, and picks up the note. Underneath it are a nickel, two dimes, and two quarters.

Confused, he begins to read the note:

 _Mac—_

 _I had the weirdest dream last night. I think it was a memory._

 _It was about a kid chasing after a quarter, and I just barely stopped him from becoming a pancake because he wasn't paying attention. Like you. Today. While you were out running. The kid ended up leaving his soda money behind, and I used it to get a cola. I barely got a look at him, but he reminds me a lot of that picture of you from last night. When I woke up this morning, I felt like I needed to pay you back the money. Here you go. Be more careful next time, OK?_

 _See you at the Phoenix._

— _Jack_

 _p.s. I suppose I owe you interest, but I've no clue how to figure that out. —J_

Amazed by what he'd just read, Mac slowly, almost reverently, picks up each coin from the kitchen counter. He starts to put the coins in his pocket, but almost immediately changes his mind. Instead, he walks into his bedroom, and sets the coins on his bedside table before rooting around inside it. Fairly quickly, he locates the box he'd been looking for and opens it, finding some mementos he's managed to save over the years.

He briefly runs his fingers over the various items, like the _Cerithideopsis californica_ * fossil his mother gave him, allowing the various memories they invoke to flow through his mind unhindered. Picking up the coins, he squeezes them tight in his fist, smiles slightly, and then adds them to the box.

Almost getting run over by a car hadn't even made his top five list of worst things to happen to him that year, and he'd not even thought of the incident since the day it had occurred. Now, it's as clear to him as if he were living that day all over again, but for the life of him, he can't remember Jack as the one who'd saved him. In the end, he decides it doesn't matter.

They'd had their first meeting when he was ten years old, and for some reason, he can't wrap his mind around the idea. He starts trying to calculate the odds, but forces himself to stop when he realizes he has to factor in the very long list of variables which led to them meeting on that day, at that time, and in that place. He decides the odds don't matter either.

What really matters is that in the grand scheme of things, though their first meeting was brief, they got a second chance to meet and become best friends, brothers, family.

ooooooo

It's not until he's in the shower that Mac realizes Jack knew he didn't maintain situational awareness while out on his run.

 **ooooooo**

 _The end._

 **ooooooo**

 **A/N:** I've had the Mac and Jack meeting when Mac was a kid idea percolating in my brain for a while now, but it took some thoughts I had about where Mac was brought up to make this story finally come together.

* _Cerithideopsis californica_ is a California horn snail.

Many thanks to Celticgal1041 for proofing! Any remaining mistakes are my fault.

 _ **Thanks for reading!**_


End file.
